Trap and release Raccoons

[kf4uda]

In the past when I have had racoon problems in my garden, I have trapped them in a live trap and called a Game Warden. They take them to a 15,000 acre wildlife management area that is about 12 miles from my house, release it and bring my trap back. It has been a great solution since I get rid of the problem racoon, don't dump it on someone else and it gets to live.

 

[oosik]

Strange - now that I think about it. We never had any problems with predation in the garden for the first ten years or so. Then the pocket gophers found the potatoes and carrots. The chipmunks found the wife's strawberries. And about that time the deer and 'coons found the apple trees.

Never had problems with the corn, kohlrabi, squash or zucchini.

Great story - one fall I was out in the orchard in the early evening. I heard familiar sounds and knew we had evening raccoons -as guests. Under one apple tree at the far end of the orchard - two adults. Sitting on the ground under the tree. Apples keep falling down - out of the tree. They had sent three young 'coons up into the branches to harvest the apples. The young were small and light and could go out the branches that would not support the adults. I let out a yell - apples quit falling- I can hear grunts and squeals - young 'coons are making their exit out of the apple tree. I let them take all that were on the ground and then the wife and I harvested what was left in that tree that very evening.

Between the deer and the 'coons - we would usually get a bit over 50% of what the trees produced. That was always enough - everybody has to share.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

IF I called a game warden with a coon in a trap, all I'd hear on the other end is him falling on the floor laughing and telling everyone around him that some idiot is on the phone wanting him to get a coon in the trap!!

I do believe here, it's against the law to release a trapped coon... AND I do put some feed out for animals, and I do kill the ones I don't like eating it!

IF it's wrong, come trap the damthings out and take them home... lol

All it takes is ONE coon in the late summer, in ONE night, to ruin my entire corn patch...and YES I have had it happen, so I'm not guessing here... And an electric fence is NOT 100% reliable, so I gave up on them long ago...

ALL coons that come here, STAY HERE and become buzzard poop!

SR

 

[teejk]

Wisconsin does not allow release of live trapped coons on State property and you need written permission to release on non-owned private land. Further to that, a land-owner is allowed to "dispatch" said coons on his/her property without regards to license or seasons (or time of day except for a few exceptions most notably at night during the deer gun season where nobody is supposed to shoot anything). Read between the lines there and you will find that Wisconsin wants you to kill them if they are a nuisance. My FIL used to live trap and relocated them to the end of his pier with aid of a cement block. Btw, I've tasted coon meat at a game feed...it was actually pretty tasty.

 

[FM504]

From your own state....
http://texnat.tamu.edu/files/2017/02/EWF-032-Supplemental-Feeding-of-White-Tailed-Deer.pdf

"Feeding nontarget species
ose who choose to supplement white-tailed deer often nd they are also feeding wildlife species other than deer. While some of these nontarget animals, such as quail or turkey may be equally desirable, others may be nuisances or even predators.
e most common nuisance animals at deer feeding stations are wild pigs, raccoons and opossums—they consume large quantities of feed. In addition to increasing the cost of feeding, these species can spread disease to other wildlife. Other nuisance animals include small mammals, such
as mice and rats, that consume and scatter feed rations and damage feeders, and may also transmit diseases or host parasites that a ect both white- tailed deer and humans."

You'd be better off planting crops for the deer to eat than feeding them at feeders. By concentrating them at feeders, you attract so-called vermin, predators, diseases, etc.... you are creating and enhancing the problem by putting out feeders for deer. It's a bad practice. There's better alternatives to getting healthy deer on your place, and lessening the raccoon problem at the same time.

I'm not anti-hunting. I let my neighbor hunt my property for the past 29 years. He plants crops on his property specifically for deer, turkey, etc... I fish as often as I can. But we don't put out food for specific animals and then shoot anything else that shows up to eat it. That's just wrong.

If you run cattle, as I do, food plots are not an option, also food plots are weather dependent and as you are probably well aware rain can be scarce down here...and I don’t shoot whatever else shows up, only coons...Your stance is clear and I respect it, but don’t condescend because you don’t agree with my practices.
As you are fond of saying ...”that’s just wrong...”

Haha whatever chief take care...

 

[ovrszd]

Each of us have our idea of paradise in regards to species mix/population. None of which are perfect. We each have to do what's necessary to keep that balance. Just be humane about it.

 

[teejk]

Each of us have our idea of paradise in regards to species mix/population. None of which are perfect. We each have to do what's necessary to keep that balance. Just be humane about it.

I agree. My FIL's drowning method was a little harsh but he was old and grew up on the farm where animals were merely that. I have a .22 pistol that is much faster although location of the brain is not always evident. Was called upon to dispatch a rogue buffalo years ago and was surprised to learn that the brain occupies very little space in that massive head...maybe the size of a softball located a few inches above the eyes.

 

[ovrszd]

I agree. My FIL's drowning method was a little harsh but he was old and grew up on the farm where animals were merely that. I have a .22 pistol that is much faster although location of the brain is not always evident. Was called upon to dispatch a rogue buffalo years ago and was surprised to learn that the brain occupies very little space in that massive head...maybe the size of a softball located a few inches above the eyes.

I read some data regarding our attempt to make the buffalo extinct a few hundred years ago. Many hunters were injured learning that important lesson.

 

[/pine]

...don't dump it on someone else and it gets to live....

And the karma is on your side...:thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[6thgpSF]

I understand coons carry a parasite that can be transmitted to humans. The only thing I shoot is squirrels that make a mess in my barn loft and in my house soffit ....russ

 

[teejk]

I understand coons carry a parasite that can be transmitted to humans. The only thing I shoot is squirrels that make a mess in my barn loft and in my house soffit ....russ

I think that parasite was a big problem maybe 30 years ago and just about ended all coon hunting that was very popular at the time (for reasons I never understood...feeding hounds all year and then running them while you tripped and stumbled in the dark woods???). I haven't heard much about it in years other than you should be careful with the droppings if they happen to leave any on your picnic table or deck.

 

[teejk]

I read some data regarding our attempt to make the buffalo extinct a few hundred years ago. Many hunters were injured learning that important lesson.

The buffalo (actually bison) thing dated back to before people cared about sustainability of a species. That really didn't end until around the time of Teddy Roosevelt who loved to hunt but was wise enough to see that "pigs get fed, hogs get slaughtered" (an expression I learned in tax law but find it applies to a lot of things). But back to the subject...I don't think anybody has to worry about the eradication of the raccoon as a species.

 

[MossRoad]

If you run cattle, as I do, food plots are not an option, also food plots are weather dependent and as you are probably well aware rain can be scarce down here...and I don’t shoot whatever else shows up, only coons...Your stance is clear and I respect it, but don’t condescend because you don’t agree with my practices.
As you are fond of saying ...”that’s just wrong...”

Haha whatever chief take care...

I say the same thing to people that put out bird feeders then shoot the squirrels and racoons that show up. Your practice of feeding animals from feeders is the root cause of the problem and its easy to fix.... killing animals that show up to eat food that you put out is just plain wrong. Unless you're using the pelts, it's also a tremendous waste of life. It is an ethics issue.

 

[goeduck]

Maybe the reason I do not have raccoon and coyote problems is that I have always stopped doing what seems to attract them? Just my :2cents:

 

[PILOON]

One big problem is the urban tree huggers that shudder at hurting god's little creatures.

As a consequence grey and black squirrels, coons and skunks etc ret transported to an outside zone to become somebody else's problem.

I have owned my land for over 50 years and never saw a grey or black squirrel but every day I see about 6 or 7.
Same problem goes with bears and coyotes, they trap and move them but they come back, must be GPS equipped. LOL

 

[the old grind]

IIRC baiting mouse traps is to gather and extinguish vermin. What so wrong about shooting vermin over food if the shooter, unlike a conibear, is selective about whom/what is dispatched or not?? They s__ in my barn they go swimming, and no blood to rinse off the "Duke Heavy Duty Large" trap. I've had a pair of 'coons eat and poop 4' of a 12ga extension cord, four colors of plastic and shredded wire in their scat.

Props to the use of Duke 'Dog Proof' pictured a page or so back, a very selective trap for raccoons. There's a right spot to crack the skull when you catch 'em in a DP or leg-hold trap. btw, global fur market collapsed years ago, and recent weather has made things messy, with mud more likely during trapping seasons when bitter cold doesn't keep them from running.

So, rats are bad and once caught should be released to live on? Not sure where to draw the line between rats and coons. Cute babies, is that it? BTW, if we catch a skunk in a coon set, should we or shouldn't we have it de-scented before we crate and ship it to Moss?

 

[/pine]

Killing unwanted animals (regardless of the species) that are attracted by food because they are a nuisance or destructive to gardens etc. is at the least being irresponsible and being entirely bone headed stupid at the extreme...people are lazy...it's easier to kill something than it is to not spill any feed grains or clean up after themselves...

shooting racoons because they are attracted to food..be it put out for pets or part of a crop is only treating symptoms and not the problem...

 

[Billrog]

We had packs of dogs running around our place some even being aggressive so I made a live trap & to my surprise caught not only dogs but a few raccoons and a bob cat . Dogs went to the dog catcher and wild animals I open the gate and let them go. None of the wild animals have ever been a problem for us.

 

[4570Man]

I've shot dozens of rabbits out of the garden. My bigger problem is groundhogs digging holes in my buildings with gravel floors. I've trapped and shot several of them. What's the better solution to that?

 

[the old grind]

.... shooting racoons because they are attracted to food..be it put out for pets or part of a crop is only treating symptoms and not the problem...

So don't plant corn? Drawing vermin to food for a reason, yes, and not just shooting everything that shows up. "A rat is a rat." etc. I'll agree to disagree as long as I think that coon damage 'symptoms' ARE the problem.

Raccoons aren't house-pets to some of us. If they didn't come to feeders they'd come to your house or barn. They raid nests and trash my barn. I kill flies and ants too.